About
Charles Rennie Mackintosh is Scotland’s most celebrated architect and designer of the 20th century. His work and legacy is celebrated across Glasgow, where he left a beautiful and lasting mark on the city. Come and admire his work for yourself.
It was clear from an early age that Charles Rennie Mackintosh was bursting with talent. Born in Glasgow, he had a flair for drawing and design, and as a young man he embarked on his illustrious career with an architectural apprenticeship and evening classes at the Glasgow School of Art. He won several awards for his work, including the prestigious Alexander Thomson Travelling Studentship, which took him on an architectural tour of Italy.
The Glasgow School of Art became the centre of an art movement in Scotland, and quickly earned its stellar reputation for architecture, art and design. The ‘Glasgow Style’ was created by Mackintosh and his contemporaries - Herbert MacNair and two sisters, Margaret and Frances MacDonald. They met as students during the 1890s and became known as ‘the Four’ exhibiting their work across the world.
From exquisite pieces of furniture in museums to a graceful building in a city park, these simple and stylish Art Nouveau designs became iconic and can still be seen all around Glasgow.
Art is the Flower. Life is the Green Leaf. Let every artist strive to make his flower a beautiful living thing, something that will convince the world that there may be, there are, things more precious, more beautiful - more lasting than life itself.
The iconic Glasgow art school building is one of Mackintosh's most famous works. Whilst its interiors aren't currently accessible as they are undergoing restoration work following a fire in 2014, you can still take an hour-long tour led by art school students, or see the exhibition at the Window on Mackintosh Visitor Centre.
The Lighthouse, on Mitchell Lane, is one of Mackintosh's earliest buildings and was originally designed as the Glasgow Herald newspaper offices. Now home to Scotland's Centre for Design & Architecture, it includes the fascinating Mackintosh Interpretation Centre and the Mackintosh Tower, which offers panoramic views. You can also see a new exhibition of Mackintosh designs that unfortunately were never built.
Visit the beautiful building of Scotland Street Museum, which is free entry, to see impressive leaded glass towers and the magnificent tiled entrance hall, as well as a room dedicated to Mackintosh's work.
You can indulge in a decadent afternoon tea amidst stylish art nouveau interiors, seated on one of Mackintosh's famous high-backed chairs at two locations in Glasgow. Visit the beautiful Mackintosh-inspired Willow Tea Rooms on Buchanan Street or the Willow Tearooms in the Watt Brothers department store on Sauchiehall Street. The original Mackintosh-designed tearooms, situated at 217 Sauchiehall Street, are currently being restored in time for 2018, the year which marks the 150th anniversary of Mackintosh's birth.
Queen's Cross Church is a Mackintosh design which opened in 1899. See the magnificent stained glass windows which capture the light and the exceptional wood and stone carvings of this building which is now the international headquarters of the Charles Rennie Mackintosh Society.
Outside of Glasgow, Helensburgh is home to another stunning Mackintosh-designed property - The Hill House. Sitting high above the Clyde, it is home to original furniture and interior design, and also has formal gardens designed in the Mackintosh style.
At the University of Glasgow's Hunterian Art Gallery is the Mackintosh House. Astonishingly, the home that Mackintosh shared with his wife at 6 Florentine Terrace, has been meticulously reassembled at this site.
Not far from the city centre is the Mackintosh designed House for an Art Lover, in Bellahouston Park. The building was designed for a competition in 1901 but not built until 1989. As well as admiring the magnificent external design, explore the breathtaking rooms, which feature high-back chairs, oval shapes and floral inserts.
